AUGUST 10, 1998

What about America?

IT is now two months since Bernie Ecclestone met with Indianapolis Motor Speedway boss Tony George to discuss the possibility of running a Grand Prix on the infield at Indianapolis. George was hoping to get an answer from Ecclestone soon after the Brickyard 400 NASCAR race so that construction work necessary could be started so that everything will be finished before the start of practice for the Indy 500 next year.

The work includes not only laying out a track on the infield but also a complete rebuild of the pit buildings to create proper F1 standard facilities rather than the existing Gasoline Alley garages.

George is interested in running a Grand Prix at Indianapolis in the Spring of 2000 - probably in June - and in theory the building work could be delayed for another year but George would prefer to have everything in order as soon as possible so that the event can be properly promoted.

Ecclestone and FIA President Max Mosley have been talking about having F1 racing to Indianapolis since 1989 when Ecclestone first said he was interested in racing at The Brickyard. The idea of an infield circuit has been knocking around since the end of 1991.